Sen. Cory Booker breaks new ground with gun control proposal

Senator Cory Booker announces his new gun control plan. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
How is it possible that you need a license to drive a car but not one to own a gun? This is the question that Sen.

Cory Booker (D-NJ) asks in an ambitious new gun control proposal released by his campaign on Monday.

The 2020 presidential nominee is going even further in his gun control plan than his Democratic challengers by mandating that anyone interested in purchasing a gun must first obtain a license to get and keep a firearm. Keeping in line with the other Democratic nominees’ gun control proposals, Booker also suggests having universal background checks, a ban on assault weapons, improved enforcement of current gun laws and additional funding for research on gun violence, according to Vox.

In explaining his rationale behind the license, Booker said simply: “If you need a license to drive a car, you should need a license to own a gun.”

Turns out the idea has important research backing it up. Currently nine states require a license or permit to purchase handguns, including New Jersey where Booker hails.

America tops the industrialized world in gun violence. This is in large part due to the gun laws that are currently in place, which are more lax than in other countries. Research backs up the notion that countries with easy access to firearms have more gun fatalities, according toVox.

The other issues that the field of Democratic candidates have raised thus far in their vying for the role of U.S. President include single-payer health care, raising taxes on the rich and the Green New Deal.

While gun control has so far yet to garner as much coverage, Booker’s plan could turn that around.

As part of Booker’s proposal, people looking to purchase handguns would need to go to designated locations (just as would when applying for a passport) to obtain a federal license administered by the FBI. All applicants would have to pay a fee and submit the required paperwork, along with a photo, and fingerprints. They would then be subjected to an interview and mandated to clear a background check. Granted if this is to ever be achieved, they would then have to go through gun safety training as a last step before finally being able to purchase a gun legally.

Booker’s plan would make a gun license valid for five years and it could also be taken away if the holder is ever convicted of a crime.